Hamilton Bulldogs front office boss Steve Staios is the Ontario Hockey League‘s general manager of the year for 2021-22.
Staios has picked up the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, voted by peers, for his role in a regular season that saw the Bulldogs establish a single-season franchise record with 51 wins and 107 points.
“It is a great honour to receive this award in the name of the late Mr. Jim Gregory who mentored and influenced many people so positively in our great game of hockey,” said Staios.
“Mr. Gregory set a high standard of leadership and it is a proud moment for me to accept this award on behalf of the entire Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Club.”
With the direction of head coach Jay McKee, Staios’s Bulldogs captured the East Division surrendering the OHL’s fewest goals (176), scoring the second most (300) and owning the best home record (27-4-1-2).
Four times the Bulldogs scored 10 goals in a game during the season and they featured seven players on their roster who registered at least a point per game.
“My dad would be so proud to have a man of Steve’s character and hockey knowledge be the winner of this award,” said David Gregory, who serves as a senior manager with NHL Central Scouting.
“Steve has had a great career in hockey, playing in over 1000 NHL games. This year Steve and his staff have their team competing for the OHL Championship. Congratulations Steve, the Gregory family is so proud to have your name alongside that of my father’s on his namesake trophy.”
A Hamilton product, Staios played three seasons in the OHL with Niagara Falls and Sudbury in the early ’90s, eventually joining the NHL through the 1991 draft and playing 19 years with the Bruins, Canucks, Thrashers, Oilers, Flames and Islanders.
He’s currently in his seventh year as president and GM of the Bulldogs.
The Jim Gregory Award, created in 2019, is presented annually to the GM who best excelled in his role during the regular season.
The award honours the memory of one of the game’s great builders in former longtime NHL executive Jim Gregory, who died in October 2019 at the age of 83.